In order to operate efficiently as possible, wind turbines, and wind turbine blades in particular, are routinely inspected, cleaned, repaired, and generally maintained. Such routine inspections, cleaning, repair, and maintenance generally require at least one worker to gain access to the wind turbine blade, which is generally situated at a considerable height above ground level.
Typically, large and complex work platforms are utilized to lift the worker and their equipment to gain access to the wind turbine blade. For many of these work platforms an anchoring or suspension device is required that must be fixed to the wind turbine tower at a high elevation. In order to fix these anchoring or suspension devices to the tower, heavy lifting machinery, such as a crane, must be utilized to lift and position these devices. Moreover, the work platform itself will likely weigh a considerable amount and require expensive machinery to lift and lower the work platform to provide access to and from the wind turbine blade. Still further, a large and complex work platform requires a large amount of time and expense to assemble and prepare before it can be successfully utilized.
What is needed in the art is an access solution that provides the benefits of large and complex work platforms, but does not require a large amount of time or any extra expensive machinery to prepare it for use. The presently disclosed suspended access chair with a rescue system addresses these needs, as well as others.